Just a Teacher
by impossiblestorm
Summary: It's the end of a long year and Clara is feeling disengaged with her job as a teacher. She is about to give up and quit when the Doctor arrives to show her just how much differences she makes to her students, no matter how much they don't show it. A little festive reflection at the end of 2014 :) Reviews appreciated! FIFTH AND FINAL CHAPTER NOW UP!
1. Chapter 1

**Reviews/feedback much appreciated :)**

**Just a Teacher**

The TARDIS materialized in Clara's living room at 4pm on a cold Wednesday in mid December and the Doctor emerged grinning. It was Wednesday, Clara-day and he couldn't wait to see his girl and whisk her away on an adventure.

"Clara!"

He called out hopping around her living room. The Doctor noticed that it was more untidy than usual, the odd used glass here and open magazine there.

"Clara!"

He continued through her kitchen towards her bedroom. Perhaps she had gone for a quick nap after school to recharge before their inevitable escapade. The Doctor paused tentatively at the closed door and knocked three times.

"Clara?"

When there was no answer he pushed the door open, eyes shut and ventured into the room.

"Are you decent? Clara?!"

When there was still no response the Doctor opened his eyes and was disappointed to find the room empty and again, messy. The bed was unmade and a small pile of clothes were pushed into a corner. Stepping carefully past the bed he noticed that Clara's diary was open on her bedside table. It was one of those 'line a day' jobs that he despised. How can you reduce a whole day of life to one single line? The Doctor knew that he shouldn't look but it was open and he couldn't help it if he had exceedingly good eyesight…

9th December: Monday – coursework – Y11 horrid

10th December: Tuesday – more coursework – Y11 still horrid

11th December: Doctor day – see leather diary

12th December: Up till 1am marking, Y11 coursework still crap

Confused he flicked back through the book and was surprised at the depressing tone of her sentences for the past few weeks. Every day apart from Wednesdays (all noted 'see leather diary') had the same negative vibe and was peppered with words such as 'horrid', 'abysmal' and 'pointless'. Looking at his watch the Doctor noticed that time had barely moved. It was now 4:15pm.

After pottering around the flat for a further five minutes the Doctor got back into the TARDIS and set the controls to arrive two hours later. Stepping out of the TARDIS at 6:20pm he was confused to find still no sign of Clara. Frustrated he tried again: 7:20pm and still no sign. 8:20pm and nothing, 9:20pm and still no Clara Oswald. Confused and now increasingly worried the Doctor tried one last time. The TARDIS materialized in Clara's flat at 10:20pm, the Doctor exited his beloved ship and spotted her straight away.

Slumped on the sofa, still in her work suit with a wine glass in hand, Clara looked exhausted. As he approached the Doctor noticed that she was dozing, breathing evenly with her eyes half open. A red pen delicately balanced in her right hand and a pile of papers stacked against her knees.

"Clara?" he enquired gently, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Clara are you okay?"

"Hmmm?" Clara looked over at the Doctor, "what are you doing here?"

"It's Wednesday, I got here at 4, you weren't here. I checked again every hour but I've only just found you now, what's happening?"

"Wednesday?!" Clara shot up, wine swirling precariously in the glass in her hand. "How did it get to Wednesday again?"

The Doctor studied her carefully. He noticed the dark brown rings under her usually sparkling eyes. He noticed how her skin was somewhat dull, blemishes emerging under a thick layer of foundation. He noticed how her hip bones jutted out from her pencil skirt. Clara had always been thin, but she had never looked this unwell before. The Doctor took his sonic from his jacket pocket and began to scan her.

"What on earth are you doing Doctor?" Clara was more awake now and taking in the situation. The Doctor continued to scan with a grim look on his face. The sonic beeped and he returned to a crouching position beside her.

"You're exhausted Clara"

"Erm well I could have told you that" she laughed. What was he on about now she wondered?

"No I mean you're completely out of battery. This says you've had 8 hours sleep in the past four days" he said waving the sonic in the air. Clara rolled her eyes.

"Life of a teacher mate" she breezed, trying to brush him off.

"And your diary, its so, depressed" he continued. Clara's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean my diary? Have you been reading it?!" she challenged, getting angrier by the second.

"Only a couple of weeks worth, it was open!" he protested. Clara slammed her wine glass down and stood up. The pair eyed each other angrily. The Doctor prepared himself to fight his corner, it was difficult to convince his feisty companion that he was right at the best of times.

Suddenly and without warning, Clara's face crumpled and silent tears began to trickle down her face. She brushed her face roughly with her hands, embarrassed at having the Doctor see her this way.

"Tell me what's going on Clara? I want to help you but I can't until I know what's happening". The Doctor was genuinely baffled. Aside from her physical appearance and stream of tears he could see nothing else that could be wrong with Clara.

Clara sniffed and focused on a spot just above his shoulder, she knew if she made eye contact she would cry again.

"Promise you won't laugh?"

"Promise"

"It's my job!"

The Doctor nodded sympathetically, only half listening and then came to his senses.

"Your _job?!_ But you're a teacher! You only work half days."

He instantly knew that that was the wrong response. Clara's eyes flashed, she turned on her heel and marched into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

"Clara, Clara!" He cried, exasperated. "I didn't mean it, I'm sorry"

"Don't you come in here!" she shouted through the door.

Deflated, the Doctor sat against the door frame and rested his head against the closed door. He heard muffled sniffs coming from inside and decided the best policy was to keep quiet. She would come round, she always did.

Sure enough after five minutes, the door crept open and Clara emerged, in pjamas now, her hair covering her face.

"Are you going to listen or are you going to mock?"

The Doctor scrambled to his feet.

"I'm listening, honestly I am. Sit down Clara, take a breath"

He guided her towards the bed and gestured for her to sit down. She huffed and pulled her dressing gown closer to her. Nervously she turned to face him. He smiled reassuringly, palms outstretched.

"Do you need me to hold your hand?"

Clara rolled her eyes. She hated and loved him in equal measure. She could tell he was taking the mick and this was making her even angrier.

"I feel like I'm just a _machine_, meeting targets, working my arse off and never getting any response in return. I need to give it up and find something else to do. When I first started I wanted to inspire minds and help young people grow. Now all I do is push and push and push them to achieve, respond and pay attention and I get nothing in return. I'm 24 years old and I don't want to look back on my life and realize that I was just a teacher. I need to do something for me."

The Doctor reached over and grasped both her hands in his.

"Look at me Clara, look at me"

She reluctantly met his gaze. He stared at her with years of wisdom in his eyes and an understanding that she had never seen before.

"Darling girl, you are so much more than 'just a teacher'"

"Doesn't feel like it" she sniffed, looking away again so that he wouldn't see the tears that were already filling her eyes.

"Have you ever thought how you affect those kids? They may not show it Clara but you have more influence than you know."

She shook her head sadly, tears spilling over.

"If you saw them, what they're like. I'm a grown woman and I can't handle teenagers and get them to read, let alone understand, the English language"

The Doctor sighed inwardly. He knew that telling her she was making a difference wouldn't work. He needed to show her.

"Right Miss O, off to bed with you, you need a fresh head in the morning"

"But my marking…"

He held a firm hand out to stop her.

"I will do the marking, I don't need as much sleep as you puny humans"

Too tired to even start arguing with him again, Clara climbed into bed. The Doctor tucked her duvet around her feet and then around her neck. In a rare sign of outward affection he stroked her hair. Her eyes drooped and in seconds she was asleep.

The Doctor wandered back to her living room and tried to make himself comfortable on the sofa. He flicked through the stack of papers and sighed.

"Right Clara Oswald, time to show you just how special you really are."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two of Clara and the Doctor's little escapade into her teaching life! I've rated this M for now as the language in this chapter does get pretty foul.**

**Chapter Two**

Clara woke on Thursday morning with a fuzzy head. Groggily she opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. Thursday, the penultimate day of the week, but also the day of the weekly staff meeting and the day she had to teach Y11 after lunch when they would no doubt be hyped up on fizzy drinks. Clara closed her eyes again and allowed herself just two more minutes snoozing.

"Clara are you decent?" came a voice from outside her bedroom door. Clara shot up, confused for a second.

"Clara get up. Rise and shine, shake a leg, hakuna matata! I'm coming in."

Of course, The Doctor, the grumpy bloody Scotsman. She slumped back on the bed, an arm slung across her face, shielding her eyes from the sunlight now streaming into the room.

"I had two more minutes Doctor," she moaned.

"You can do a lot in two minutes Clara, now get up."

He yanked the duvet down to hurry her and she grabbed on, glaring.

"I could have been naked under that you know." She huffed, getting to her feet and rifling through her wardrobe. "What's the plan for today then smarty pants? Going to zoom into Coal Hill and turn all the little delinquents into little angels?"

The Doctor fixed her with a hard stare. "Just get dressed Oswald and stop asking questions." He walked off without a second glance as she rolled her eyes at him. "and less of the cheek!"

After showering and dressing Clara walked into her living room to find the Doctor reading through the stack of unmarked coursework.

"Marked it," he announced. "Your class have a very poor grasp of the English language for natives".

"Humph, tell me about it" Clara flicked her hair from her face walked over to the kitchen and retrieved two mugs from the cupboard. "Tea?"

"Yep. Strong please." He watches her as she fills the kettle, boils it and decants the water into mugs. He had always thought that Clara was indestructible, not physically of course but mentally. He realized now just how naïve he had been. She was only young and of course the pressures of the working world would get to her eventually. But the Doctor had a plan, it wasn't going to involve the usual whizz bang moments, the usual running, the usual temporary terror and the tangible relief as they raced back into the safe zone of the TARDIS. It was a simple plan, but a good one, he hoped.

"Clara, name for me your top three worst students. Think carefully"

Clara considered his question for a moment before giving the first name.

"Mohamed Ismail. He's defo the worst" she shuddered at the thought of the boy who regarded her with such distain.

"Next" said the Doctor, eyes unmoving and focused on Clara.

"Belle Aikman." This student was a different ilk from Mohamed Ismail but still gave Clara grief.

"And?"

"Chloe Wilson-Jones – the terror of terrors. Forget daleks, I dare you to spend a minute in a room with that girl and her stinking attitude."

The Doctor stood up and held out a hand. Clara stepped forward, placing her hand in his tenitively, the tea undrunk on the side.

"Time to see what you really mean to these kids Miss Oswald"

Clara sighed and, convinced that this was a lost cause but humoring him anyway, stepped into the TARDIS.

"First stop!" the Doctor yelled, rushing around the console pressing buttons and pulling levers. "Monday 8th September 2014, 9am, by my calculations this would be your first lesson of the term with your, 'horrid Y11'" the Doctor wiggled his fingers and eyebrows in unison on that last phrase and pushed a final button. The TARDIS whirred to life and they landed with a jolt.

"Now, put this on" the doctor waved a clunky looking watch in Clara's face. "It will make you invisible."

"Err, hang on." Clara took the watch but didn't put it on. "Are you telling me we're going into one of my lessons, where I'll be teaching… so I'll be watching myself?!"

"Yup, put it on. Consider it… professional development." The Doctor slapped his watch onto his wrist and hovered by the door, one hand on the handle. "And don't make a noise when we leave this box, we're invisible not sound proof"

Clara started to protest but the Doctor placed a finger to his lips, smirked and made an exit.

"_Year 11! This is an appalling start to the term! Sit in your seats and get a pen out!"_

_Clara stood at the front of the classroom looking exasperated as the 13 students in front of her ignored her every instruction. As a low ability class their morale was typically low and they didn't see why they should have to sit down, shut up and listen to this new woman any more than they had to sit down, shut up and listen to the last unfortunate chap who had tried to teach them. _

"_Right! I'm going to waste one of your minutes at break time for every minute you waste of mine!" huffed Clara, striking a solitary line on the board. "One minute wasted of your break. Well done year 11!"_

_One of the taller lads turned his head lazily towards Clara. _

"_No point putting minutes on the board man, we ain't gonna stay past the bell, it's against our human rights init". _

"_And your name is?" Clara asked pointedly trying to regain some sense of control._

"_Mohamed init, what's it to you?" The boy kissed his teeth and turned back to face his classmates._

'_Well 'Mohamed init'" Clara quipped, fingers waggling in fake quotation marks "Please remove yourself from my classroom for your rudeness."_

_The classroom feel silent as 13 pairs of eyes all focused on Clara. She felt both powerful and terrified. _

"_You what?" Mohamed had now stood up from his chair and was fixated on Clara._

"_Leave the room Mohamed. Thank you." Clara had hoped that being firm would settle the situation but the boy continued to advance on her._

"_I said, you WHAT?!"_

_Shit, Clara thought. This is the kind of situation they warn you about in teacher training but she never thought it would happen to her. _

"_MOHAMED ISMAIL SIT YOUR BACKSIDE DOWN RIGHT NOW!"_

_Clara's Head of Department Charles Packman stormed into the room. The class immediately sat up a little straighter and Mohamed did indeed return to his seat. Glaring at Clara he held his gaze and muttered._

"_Ain't gonna be told what to do by some woman."_

_Before Clara even had a chance to react Charles was towering over the boy._

"_That's your the last chance Mohamed. Out. You're spending the lesson with me"_

_As Charles followed the boy out of the classroom Clara realized just how fast her heart was beating. She now had the full attention of the class, not that she wanted it. She was fully aware of how red she had blushed and how shaky her hands were. Clara turned to the board and started writing:_

_[your name]_

_Year 11 English Literature_

_Miss Oswald_

_Room 7_

"_Copy that on to the front of your new books please year 11. Blue or black ink. No graffiti._

Clara felt the Doctor tug on her shoulder and she followed him back into the TARDIS. She bowed her head for a moment hoping to hide her embarrassment as the Doctor punched numbers into the console.

"Not the best first lesson ever I'll admit," she muttered, avoiding his gaze.

"Pretty diabolical Clara, the key is not to show your fear. Teenagers, daleks, they're all the same" The Doctor flapped his hands around as if swatting away invisible flies. "Right, we've arrived."

"What?! We haven't moved!" Clara griped. The Doctor held the TARDIS door open.

"We have, keep up keep up!" He sighed "Out. And keep that watch on."

"_I don't GET IT man, this is a bare waste of time." Mohamed pushed his book away and tossed his pen aside. What was the point in practicing coursework when they had another two weeks to complete the real one?_

"_Come on Mo, just try. Remember: 'point, evidence, explain'" _

Clara watched herself from behind as she sat next to the boy, pen in hand, pointing at the open text in front of them. She tried in her mind to recall this lesson, why had the Doctor brought her to this point?

"_So the point yeah…" Mohamed started slowly "…is the main thing I'm trying to say yeah?"_

"_Correct, and what is your point?" _

"_I wanna say yeah, that the director right is showing the audience that the character is good yeah and not a waste man init…"_

Clara watched herself as she listened to Mohamed's point, she cast her eyes around the classroom, the rest of the students were lolling about, she could see that Chloe had written all of three words (most likely a feeble attempt at a title) and that Belle was flicking through a copy of Grazia. Brilliant, she thought, seems like I can get one under control at the expense of all the others slacking off.

"_FUCK THIS SHIT MAN" came a shout that brought Clara back to the present moment with a bump. "You know nothing init, no point in doing this it ain't even the real thing."_

"_Come on Mo! Let's just have one more try…" Clara remained seated; leaning forward, ready to welcome the boy back to his seat to continue to work on his coursework._

"_Nah nah nah, fuck this, and fuck you. You're a shit teacher anyway." And with this parting line, Mohamed stormed out of the classroom._

Clara stalked back into the TARDIS, the Doctor following hot on her heels.

"SEE!" she demanded, flapping her hands again. "See what he's like?! There is no getting through to that kid."

The Doctor ignored her and continued his merry dance around the TARDIS console as she whirred into life and landed again with a jolt.

"We're here," he announced "But you haven't been here before so be careful."

"Erm, where are we then? I'm not really enjoying these surprises." Clara folded her arms across her chest and did her best to look cross. The truth of the matter was, Clara was enjoying these surprises. As convinced as she was that the Doctor was wrong about her students and the job in general, she was quietly anticipating whatever he had in store next.

"Just hush up and get out the door" The Doctor pushed Clara in the direction of the TARDIS door "Watch on, mouth zipped."

_Mohamed sat at a small desk in a dimly lit room, hunched over a set of exercise books, pen in hand. He sighed as he considered the papers in front of him. He held one aloft, grimacing at the amount of red pen covering the paper. The bass of unidentifiable music and thumped through the walls accompanied by muffled shouting but he didn't seem to notice. Something shifted within Clara. This wasn't exactly the kind of environment she had expected Mo to live in. With his harsh words and flashy attire she had always thought that he would live in a big house with a cleaner and maybe even some kind of maid to cater to his every whim. She had just assumed that he was spoilt. Regret bubbled deep in her stomach; it was now clear to her that all his bravado was a front to make up for what was clearly going on at home._

"_Mohamed, get your head out of those books man and get down here!" came a call from downstairs. Mo jammed one finger in his ear and carried on reading his marked essay. 'MOHAMED!" came the call again._

_A tall man in his early twenties burst into the room. He was slim and dressed well in a black suit; a large gold watch adorned his wrist and gold chains hung from his neck._

"_Mohamed man I said quit this bollocks and get downstairs. Me and the boys are going down Riverside to do some 'shopping' init." The man leant against the doorframe and winked._

_Mo rolled his eyes and kept focusing on the page before him. _

"_I ain't coming man, I've got this to do init"_

"_You what?!" said the man in an uncanny echo of Mo's outburst weeks before. "You're staying here to do some shitty school work?"_

"_Yeah man, Miss O says if I redraft this I can get a C init."_

_The man stepped forward and cuffed Mo around the back of his head. Mo flinched but stayed still. Eyes still focused on the page, but wetter somehow._

"_You're a stupid excuse for a man Mohamed, following orders from women init, trying to get your 'GCFEs' like you're too good for our life. Just quit whilst you're ahead bro, no point in studying to get a job when the pigs make it so easy to help yourself."_

_The man stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. Mohamed roughly brushed his eyes and picked up a pen._

"_Right. Point, evidence, explanation. Let's do this shit."_

Back on the TARDIS Clara made a swift exit to her bedroom. The Doctor did not follow her but retired to the library with plans to read for an hour before taking his willful companion onwards to their next stop. Half an hour later however the Doctor's reading session was cut short when Clara appeared in the doorway. Without looking at her he held a piece of stack of A4 papers aloft. Clara took them and glanced at the top paper – Mohamed's.

"As you can see, he's pointed, evidenced and explained throughout. And he's even managed not to include his favourite words 'init' and 'man'. By the exam boards standards I think you'll find that's a solid C grade."

Clara couldn't hide the shock on her face. It turned out that even through Mo was hell bent on giving her a hard time in class; he actually took her advice on board and put it into play. Who knew?

"Lesson one Clara O, never judge a book…" The Doctor waved his copy of 'War and Peace' at her, "by its cover."

Clara sniffed and turned away so he wouldn't see her eyes fill with tears again.

"Well, if you're next plan is to take me to visit Belle Aikman at home then that is not going to prove anything. The girl has everything, supportive family, extra tutoring. You won't do it!"

The Doctor smiled, tapped Clara lightly on the nose and stalked off to the console room calling behind him…

"Never judge a book Clara! Never judge a book."

**If you have any feedback or comments please feel free to leave them for me to read :) Next chapter should be up by the end of the weekend!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Slamming his copy of 'War and Peace' down on the console the Doctor began punching in coordinates once more.

"Next stop teach, is back to your classroom. A lesson in October when you were undertaking a piece of creative writing work with your little darlings."

"How on earth do you know all this?" Clara questioned. She was baffled that the Doctor knew so much about her work when he had only started asking questions last night in her flat.

"You humans sleep too much. I was bored so I did a little 'teacher planning' of my own. I dabbled around in your time stream and found some little spots to take you to. It's all about the preparation you know."

Clara spluttered at the Doctor, furious that he had been dabbling in her personal life.

"Well I hope you weren't spotted idiot. You can't just mess about in my ACTUAL life Doctor!"

"Oh Clara, Clara, Clara chill, relax! This is my little treat from me to you. Of course I was careful. Now please exit my ship, watch on and don't forget…"

"To keep silent yeah, yeah, yeah." Clara replied rolling her eyes. "I can guarantee if you're trying to persuade me that anything I do will help Belle Aikman then you're wrong – I'm right about this one."

The Doctor approached Clara, getting just a tiny bit too close. For someone who had an issue with personal space the Doctor was really taking the mick Clara thought. He would have been furious if this situation had been the other way around. He placed a solitary finger on his companion's lips.

"Clara, shut up, watch on, get out of the TARDIS. Silence"

Scowling at the Doctor, Clara did was she was told, shut up, adjusted the watch and exited the TARDIS.

"_Maybe if she put as much effort into marking our work as she does to her pathetic attempts at following fashion we might actually learn something."_

_Belle Aikman lolled back in her chair. Legs crossed, toes pointed and inspected her perfectly manicured nails. Her blonde hair fanned out around her face and shone in the sunlight that was streaming through the windows of Clara's tiny but beloved classroom. Clara heard Belle's scathing criticism of her marking and fashion sense but chose to ignore her. Children, she thought, are ridiculous. Clara swore that she had never been that rude as a student but right now; Belle's attitude was the least of her worries. Running a finger down her marking grid sighed and scrawled a big red 'F' on the front of Belle's latest test. _

"_Belle, come here please." Clara called. She was trying out a new strategy where she would have a one to one chat with each student at her desk at the front of the room whilst the others worked in silence. Unfortunately she hadn't managed to get them to work in silence yet but for now she would put up with the hum of conversation, even though she knew at the back of the mind that none of them were actually discussing the work. _

"_Let me guess, I've failed your stupid test have I?" Belle towered over Clara at her desk, one eyebrow raised and a look of disgust on her face._

"_Unfortunately for you Belle, you have." Clara replied, determined not to react to the girls' rudeness. "Now sit down so we can go through your mistakes and make some targets."_

_Belle flopped down on the chair next to Clara's desk and continued to inspect her nails. Clara steeled herself inside. She was convinced she knew the reasons behind why Belle was failing, but she also knew that revealing her suspicions to the girl would inspire a less than pleasant reaction. _

"_Belle, the thing about your tests is that half your answers are right but the other halves are completely wrong. Look at this…" Clara pointed at the first question. "You've got the quote right, but your explanation is completely wrong, in fact it's the complete opposite of what the quote actually means. It's like you're trying to get it wrong on purpose."_

_Belle sniffed and frowned at Clara. "The _reason _that I'm getting it _wrong _is that you're not teaching the material properly. How on earth are we supposed to get top marks in 'creative writing' if you can't even teach the inspirational texts behind our work properly?"_

_Clara stared at the girl and willed herself not to react to this obvious dig. In the moment she could not give a damn about Belle's comments about her inadequate teaching. Harsh comments only hurt the first few times they are uttered and the constant remarks about her teaching now bounced off of her. _

_She knew that she was teaching properly but was baffled as to why her methods weren't working with this otherwise articulate student._

"_Parent's evening is coming up Belle and if your tests don't improve I will be forced to show your parents." Clara stated with an air of finality. _

"_Well, won't that be a wonderful surprise for them Miss." Belle replied her voice dripping with sarcasm, pushing her chair back and getting to her feet. "Am I excused?"_

"_Yes," Clara sighed, "Go back to your seat and continue with your creative piece, and Belle?"_

"_What?"_

"_Sometimes you need to save yourself first. Dumbing down your obvious intelligence is not going to help." _

"_Whatever" huffed Belle as she turned her back on Clara and returned to her desk._

Back on the TARDIS the Doctor was smirking. "Ooh doesn't the plot _thicken!_" he exclaimed, gesticulating wildly. "A seemingly clever student, well spoken and articulate, failing her tests, _on purpose _you believe!"

"Yes I do 'believe'" Clara spat, "and I think I'd _know _seeing as I am a _qualified_ teacher. But if she wanted to fail her tests deliberately just to make me look bad she's the stupid one. I've already done my GCSEs so she's just failing herself!"

The Doctor smirked and turned back to the console, preparing for their next journey.

"So naive Miss O, look at the bigger picture, dig deeper into the story behind the painting and remember, when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

Clara rolled her eyes. "Ergh. Whatever Sherlock. Go on! Prove me wrong, I know you want to."

"I do indeed Clara, I do indeed! Now do you have your…"

"Watch? Silence? Yeah yeah yeah, I'm on my best behaviour. _Sir._"

"Good" the Doctor stated. "Now, exit the box."

"With pleasure!"

_The TARDIS door opened to reveal a huge living room, decorated uniformly. The sofas wallpaper and carpet, were all a shade of off-white. There was even a white baby grand piano in the corner of the room, decorated with a large vase of white lilies. In the corner was a large ornate desk, again painted in white and sitting at the desk, Belle._

"_Failed another test in English have you? AGAIN?" came a voice from outside the room. A woman entered the room, dressed well in a slim fitting grey suit and wearing towering heels. Her face looked as if it had been stretched backwards towards her ears. Clara made a mental note never to have Botox if that was the result. Despite the obvious moderations, the woman was the spitting image of Belle, her mother, Clara assumed. _

"_I just don't get it…" the woman continued, "you were so smart at primary school, you got Level 5s at the end of year 6. Even when you started at Coal Hill you were getting the grades. You were on track for an A* at one point! And now you're in the bottom set with all those council estate kids. You're a disappointment Belle, I never thought my own daughter would be such a failure."_

_Clara swore that if heartbreak was something you could physically feel, she was feeling it in that moment. How could a mother be so mean to their child? As she continued to watch Clara wondered, had she been just as horrible to Belle? It was obvious now that the sass and the attitude were to hide her vulnerability, just as it had been with Mohamed. Clara turned and tugged on the Doctor's sleeve, eyes imploring him to let them leave, she didn't think she could take much more of this. He gave her a pointed look and grasped her roughly by the shoulders, turning her back towards Belle and her mother._

"_Couldn't you just… help me with the work mum?" Belle asked. "I mean, you were an English teacher before you became head of St Hilda's, you know all about it…"_

"_Oh honestly Belle really? Do you really think I have time to help you when I have a school to run? You're fifteen darling and you go to a perfectly good school. Anything that Osborne woman teaches you should be enough. Now, in your next test I expect a higher score. Otherwise your father will hear about this."_

_Belle turned away and focused on the homework in front of her. Her body stiffened and Clara ached to reach out to her. _

"_I'd be doing much better if I went to St Hilda's," she muttered. It was so quiet that Clara barely heard her speak. Unfortunately Belle's words were loud enough for her mother to hear._

"_Oh do shut up. You know I can't have you at St Hilda's, it wouldn't reflect well on me. And with these disgusting grades," she cast a hand towards the test lying on the desk. "I wouldn't have you there even if they expelled you from Coal Hill." And with that final stinging remark, Belle's mother left the room. _

_Clara didn't have to see Belle's face to know that she was crying silently. Tears sprang to her own eyes and she wrapped her hands around her own waist in an attempt to provide some comfort. This wasn't fair, no wonder the girl was failing. She was deliberately failing her tests in an attempt to get her mother to help and in the long run it seemed, to try and get her mother to let her attend St Hilda's so that she could see her a little more. No child should have to scheme to get the attention of their parents Clara thought. _

_Lost in her own thoughts it took the Doctor several attempts to get Clara's attention. Eventually he took her hand and the shock made her turn to face him. The Doctor gestured to Clara to walk forwards and look over Belle's shoulder. The girl was tracing her fingers over red writing at the bottom of her test paper. Clara's eyes blurred as she read the writing Belle was focused on._

'_Belle, this is half right and half wrong. See my annotations for the correct answers. Remember, you are brighter than this – save yourself first.'_

"_Save yourself first." Belle whispered. This final note proved to be too much for Clara who turned and walked past the Doctor and into the TARDIS._

As soon as she set foot on the TARDIS tears flowed from Clara's eyes. The Doctor hurried in after her, aghast that his companion was crying.

"Ah Clara, Clara Clara Clara…" he began. She turned towards him, eyes blotchy yet full of fire.

"Don't you BLOODY DARE say I told you so. I don't want to… I can't hear it" she choked through her sobs. "I just need 10 minutes and then we'll go again, just 10." Clara stormed off through the TARDIS and the Doctor watched her retreating figure with a mixture of horror and amusement.

He would never tell her but he loved being right. It seemed all his stubborn little companion needed was her eyes opened to the real stories behind her 'horror class'. He knew that sometimes it was easy to only see the surface problems, and not look behind the mask. But she was only a young woman he reflected, wasn't it his job to help her grow up that little bit more?

"Next stop," he muttered to himself as he prepared the TARDIS, "November, back to room 7, the best one yet." The Doctor smiled and stared at the ceiling.

"You're already learning Clara Oswald, lets hope you'll pass this final test with flying colours."

**Thanks for reading - please leave a review if there is anything you would like to say - comments are much appreciated! The next stop will be the Doctor and Clara's last - I anticipate one or two more chapters of this fic - thanks again for sticking with it this far!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Right, I'm ready, lets go."

Clara reappeared in the console room; her eyes now dry but still holding herself defensively. The Doctor knew he had to tread carefully to avoid upsetting her again and he hoped that their next visit wouldn't be too taxing.

"Next stop, November 30th, just last month, your classroom, watch on, mouth zipped, let's go!"

Clara didn't even look at the Doctor as she walked past him and made a swift exit from the TARDIS. He would never understand the way women had that ability to turn something that wasn't his fault, into his fault. He hadn't caused the scene at Belle Aikman's house but Clara was definitely treating him like he had. Sighing inwardly he followed her out of the TARDIS.

_Clara's horror class were strangely focused on their work. On the whiteboard at the front of the room was written 'COURSEWORK – LAST LESSON – FAIL TO COMPLETE IT AND YOU WILL BE HERE AFTER SCHOOL', it seemed that her thinly veiled threats had actually worked their magic. Clara herself was flitting between students, quickly reading over their shoulders and whispering corrections and encouragement. At the front of the room however, one student was not focused at all, Chloe Wilson-Jones was doodling hearts on the corner of her coursework paper, completely lost in her own thoughts and definitely not thinking about having to stay behind after the lesson to complete her work. Clara sighed, all hopes of getting a whole set of coursework done and dusted in the lesson lost. She approached Chloe and sat down gently in the vacant chair next to her. _

_Over the past couple of months Clara had learnt a lot about this class and the students in it. Yes there were still massive issues that needed to be sorted out, but at least now she had a vague grip on the personalities of some students and how to handle them. Chloe, she knew, was not a student to be shouted at._

"_Chloe? What are you doing?"_

_Chloe turned to face Clara. She was a simple looking girl with shoulder length mousy brown hair tucked behind her ears and wide watery blue eyes. Her expression was blissfully blank, as she looked at Clara, seemingly unaware as to why her English teacher would be sitting next to her in an English lesson._

"_Drawing Miss, do you like it?"_

_Chloe offered Clara her paper, hearts and all, and peered hopefully at her teacher. Clara was lost for words for a moment. She new that Chloe wasn't complete unaware of what they were doing in the lesson but this was ridiculous. Clara chose her next question carefully._

"_Chloe do you realise this piece of work is worth 20% of your grade?" she probed, staring intently at her student._

"_Yeah but I don't need grades Miss, they're not that important."_

_Clara drew her breath in sharply and held it for a second. She could feel tension in her shoulder and made a conscious effort to release it. _

"_Of course your grades are important Chloe, you need at least a C to get into college, and I thought you wanted to do childcare?" _

_Chloe smiled shyly, her eyes sparkly and fingered the edge of her coursework paper._

"_I don't need them Miss cos me and Kyle are engaged and we're gonna get a flat in town."_

_Clara frowned. She assumed that this Kyle that Chloe spoke of was the infamous Kyle Lucas, year 11's self-appointed 'badman'. She would never comment on her student's relationships but Clara knew that if she was Chloe's mother she would be heavily discouraging any unison with this boy. _

"_They don't just give out flats to teenagers Chloe, you need these qualifications trust me, and anyway, even if you could just get a council flat you'd still need a job! Which you need qualifications for, so come on, let's get this done." Clara turned away and prepared to go and tackle Mohamed who had started on the 'your mum' jokes with Charlie Jones at the back of the room. _

"_I don't need a job Miss cos me and Kyle are gonna have a baby, I'll be a full time mum and get benefits to look after it."_

_Clara's heart sank as she turned back to face Chloe. She knew that Chloe wasn't joking and said a silent prayer that she wasn't about to find out that one of her students was about to have a baby._

"_Please tell me you're not pregnant Chloe, because if you are you know I'll have to tell Mr. Packman." _

"_No not yet Miss, it takes a while you know, it's not that easy to just have a baby. But when I do get pregnant we'll apply for a flat and we'll get it. They have to give us a flat as we're under 18 and we'll have a baby to look after."_

_Clara had no idea where her student's logic had come from but what she was hearing was the most ridiculous thing in the entire world. Clara didn't have any experience of the council housing system but she was pretty sure that they didn't just hand out flats to pregnant sixteen year olds._

"_Chloe where did you hear this? It's not true love," Clara said softly in an attempt to get through to her student._

"_My mum Miss, she's got eight of us and with each new one, she gets more money. And it's nice Miss, having the little ones around. I can't wait" _

Clara gestured to the Doctor that it was time to leave. He followed her, confused, back to the TARDIS.

"Why have we come back? I thought she was supposed to be the 'horror of horrors'?" the Doctor asked, baffled, as Clara shut the TARDIS door behind them. He had expected more than that when he'd picked that moment for Clara to re-watch. Of course he had seen the first couple of minutes but he was sure that he's sensed a storm brewing and that he'd be taking her to see something explosive from her past that he would be able to create a lesson of his own from.

"She is" Clara sighed, "Can't you see it? She's the worst; the one I've failed the most. How can I have been teaching her for so long and the only ambition she has is to become a mother, get a flat and live off benefits? I should be inspiring her to do some work and get that C!"

The Doctor considered this for a moment before starting to pace around the console again.

"Well, it's December now, let's fast forward to August, results day, and see what happens."

"This is weird" Clara muttered, "I'm not sure I want to see what they get and then have to go back and teach them already _knowing_ what will happen in the end. It's like skipping to the end of a book."

"We'll just see Chloe I promise, no spoilers!" The Doctor winked and pulled a lever, sending the TARDIS forward eight months into the future.

_It was a baking hot summer's day and Clara was regretting the choice to keep her thick woolly winter jumper on. The school hall was full of chattering students and she spied Mohamed across the room. Jeans slung around his bottom and a snapback resting on the top of his head. He was clutching a brown envelope that looked unopened. Clara ached to walk over and watch as he opened his results but the Doctor, sensing her thoughts, gripped her arm and steered her in the opposite direction. Chloe was stood with her back to them chatting to a group of friends. Clara's heart sank into her boots as she realised what she was holding._

_Chloe didn't have a results envelope in her hands, nor did she have a last minute application form for Coal Hill's 6__th__ form. _

_In her arms lay a baby, approximately a month old, dressed in a tiny blue babygro. Tears sprang to Clara's eyes as she calculated the rough dates of the child's conception. _

_November. They had just come from a lesson in November. Chloe was already pregnant when she had confessed her plans to Clara. And so Clara's pep talk was for nothing, and nor was the chat Chloe and had mother had been forced to have with Mr. Packman and Mrs. McFarlane, her head of year. Clara felt numb. She knew that Chloe was now never going to reach her potential was never going to go to college or hold down a job._

_Out of the three students they had visited, Clara felt the most despair at this moment. Mohamed and Belle she had seen were working towards their futures, but Chloe? Her future was decided. Her future was now her baby's future. Game over. _

Back on the TARDIS Clara busied herself making tea in the kitchen. The Doctor leant against the door and watched her. He had many questions to ask but he didn't want to provoke Clara in her sleep-deprived state.

"I know you think I'm being a snob," Clara said, stirring sugar into his tea, "But I know that girl and I know that being a mother so young will ruin her life."

"You don't know that Clara, you know her as a sixteen year old. She'll grow up. This baby might be the making her of."

Clara shrugged and handed the Doctor his tea. "It's a waste of so much potential. You know when I was younger, fourteen or fifteen maybe, I used to plan the careers of my future children, as I didn't think I would do anything much with my own life. And then I did my GCSEs, got good grades, went on to A Levels, degree etc. and I realised that there was so much more to do for myself, that I could do things for myself and that was ok. And when I think of Chloe, I think about all the things she won't do, because she's a mother now, and her child comes first."

The Doctor took a tentative sip of his tea and tried not to hide the disgust on his face. He knew that Clara tried to make good strong tea but failed almost every time. "You can't win them all Clara. There will be other students, other situations like this, you'll win some battles I promise."

"Hmmm." Clara stared, unblinking, at the floor and contemplated their visits that morning. She knew that the Doctor had been trying to boost her spirits by showing her the students at their most unguarded. She smiled inwardly when she thought about Mohamed, working hard to get his C grade, and Belle, working on her homework with Clara's words ringing in her ears but Chloe's future left her feeling empty. She knew it was just one student she hadn't managed to 'save' but that was one too many for her. She was supposed to be a teacher, a role model, she was supposed to guide these young people towards a brighter future. And she felt like she had failed.

Clara was bought back to her senses by the sound of the Doctor sloshing his cup of tea down the sink.

"I don't fancy tea any more," he announced. "I want a coffee shop coffee, lets go!"

Clara rolled her eyes and followed him back into the console room.

"We can't just go for a coffee Doctor, don't forget it's Thursday in my time and I'm supposed to be going to work!"

"Time machine, travels in tiiiiiiime" the Doctor half sang at Clara, wiggling his fingers as he elongated the word 'time'. "I'll skip us forward to Saturday morning – you'll just have to avoid the town centre this weekend to avoid spotting yourself and causing a paradox"

Clara smiled at her beloved time lord. He was really trying to help her out she reflected. She had been particularly moany today and he had put up with all of it. He had been sympathetic and kind but also necessarily blunt enough to help her see the real picture. She was still feeling mixed about the three students but maybe, just maybe this coffee shop coffee with the Doctor would help a little bit.

**Thank you for sticking with this story so far! Last chapter will most likely be the last **


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for sticking with this story until the end, it has been fun to write and I'm sad to see it come to a close!**

**Chapter 5**

"What are you having Doctor? Latte? Cappuccino? Flat white?" Clara stood next to the Doctor looking up at a giant blackboard in her favourite coffee shop. "Or a festive coffee maybe? Toffee nut latte? Or a hot chocolate with a shot of mint?"

The Doctor looked at Clara with a frown, his eyebrows knitting together with the intensity in his eyes.

"Clara why can't I just have a normal coffee without all _this _nonsense?" he flapped his hands at the barista and her extensive collection of syrups and sprinkles.

Clara rolled her eyes, shooed him away to find a table and ordered a toffee nut latte and an Americano with milk. She figured that this was the closest she would get to the Doctor's idea of a 'normal' coffee. Whilst she waited for their order to be prepared Clara glanced around the shop, it was so early in the morning that the place was practically deserted save for a few businessmen getting their caffeine fix before working the weekend, and a couple of mothers with pushchairs.

"One normal coffee for you sir" Clara announced, setting the mug down in from of the Doctor.

"No shots or sprinkles or decaf skinny anything?" he asked, eyeing the drink suspiciously.

"No" she sighed "it's just a normal coffee drink it idiot."

The Doctor did as he was told and took a sip of the drink. He observed Clara as she took her own drink in her hands. He had noticed that she had a funny way with hot drinks, spending more time caressing the mug than actually drinking the drink. He imagined that by the time she got round to it the liquid in her mug must be lukewarm. Wasn't the very point of a hot drink that you were supposed to drink it hot? As he prepared himself to ask Clara this very question, a young woman approached Clara from behind.

"Excuse me, Miss Oswald?"

Clara span around and looked confusedly at the woman in front of her. She looked around twenty-one or twenty-two; her mousy brown hair tied half up, half down. To her left was a small boy looking shyly up at Clara. He had the same mousy hair and watery blue eyes, with freckles dotted across his nose. Clara knew their faces, both so achingly familiar. So why couldn't she recall this woman's name?

"Miss Oswald, it's Chloe, from Coal Hill?" she hesitated, "Do you remember? You were my English teacher…"

Clara span around to face the Doctor, her eyes wide in shock. The Doctor shrugged a silent apology and wondered how far in the future they actually were. He knew it was a Saturday in Clara's town, maybe a couple of years ahead of where he had actually planned to land.

Turning back around Clara gulped hastily. She had better play this one smoothly to avoid creating an air of suspicion.

"Chloe! Hi! Wow this is strange, how many years has it been?"

The Doctor have a sarcastic cough and Clara kicked him under the table, if he was going to shoot her forwards years into the future and not know what year they were in, she would have to find out for herself!

"Six, since I left school, my Mason, he's six now aren't you Mase?" Chloe ruffled the boy's hair and he turned to her, burying his face in her top. "He's a shy boy," she explained, "not that much like me at all eh?"

Chloe waved an arm behind her and pointed at a man in a suit feeding a toddler in a pram. A girl, smaller than Mason sat to his side and chewed on a bagel.

"Those are my other two, Lucy is three and Freddie is one." She explained, looking proudly over at her little family.

"Wow, you've been busy Chloe," Clara said, she wanted to probe further but didn't know what to say, should she ask if she was still with Kyle? Should she ask if she was working? Had qualifications? Was she happy? Clara desperately wanted to know.

"I'm not with Kyle any more" Chloe announced, her hands lightly over Mason's ears. "Turns out he didn't want to know, with all the nappies and the night feeds, he scarpered. But when Mase was one I met Lewis, and then Lucy and Freddie followed after that. He's a business man, owns his own chain of car garages" Chloe told Clara, her eyes shining with pride.

Clara smiled. It looked like everything had turned out okay for Chloe; she was in a stable relationship, with three healthy children. Did it really matter what became of her qualifications? As long as she was happy?

"Well it's lovely to see you again Chloe, and I'm glad that you're happy" The Doctor rolled his eyes but Clara didn't see.

"And Miss, feels odd calling you Miss, I just wanted you to know…" Chloe paused, looking at Clara with a wistful air. "That I regretted not working more in your lessons and getting my C in my GCSE, it was a stupid decision, I was immature…" she paused again, gently stroking her sons hair, "But I never forgot what you taught us, how you tried to get us to aim high, how you never gave up even though we were the most hopeless class ever."

"Well you were an experience anyway!" Clara laughed, trying not to think about the fact that after this coffee she was going straight back to work to see that hopeless class.

"When Kyle left, and I was on my own for a bit, I thought about those lessons and I thought about how you always believed in us and pushed us to achieve even though we were so horrible to you. And I enrolled in college, got my Cs in English and Maths and then did a childcare course. And I've worked my way up; I'm a manager at the nursery at Coal Hill. Strange eh? That I'm now working where I started out?"

Clara felt her eyes start to fill with tears and blinked rapidly. There was no way she was going to cry again in front of the Doctor, let alone her old student. Or her current student… Clara silently cursed the Doctor again for getting their timings wrong.

"Chloe that's brilliant, I…" Clara paused and searched for the right words, "Chloe I'm so proud of you, and it sounds like you've really made something of your life."

"I've made the best I can Miss, and, I'm happy, I really am. And you know what? He won't be making the same mistakes that I did" Chloe indicated her son who had detached himself from his mother and was now facing Clara. "Tell Miss Oswald what your favourite subject is!"

"I like Maths." Mason said shyly, then brightening a bit "And I'm going to be a rocket engineer when I'm big! Mum says anything is possible if you work hard."

"Thanks again Miss, maybe see you around sometime." Chloe gave Clara one last smile and turned away, ushering Mason back towards her partner and other children.

Tears brimmed in Clara's eyes and breached over on to her cheeks. She roughly wiped them away and faced the Doctor. He was smiling, tapping his fingers on the side of his mug.

"I think that's the best lesson you can learn Miss Oswald. See, I was right, look at the influence you've had, not just on Chloe, but her children too."

Clara smiled a half-smile. "Let's go, take me back to my actual time, I think I'm ready to face horrible Thursday"

Back on the TARDIS the Doctor was deliberately slow with setting the controls to take Clara home. In a way he wanted to have a conversation with his companion, he wanted to discuss with her their trips that morning. He wanted to get confirmation from Clara that their visits had helped, that her mood was a little lighter as she prepared to face her day. But Clara was silent, pottering around, poking at the bookshelves, browsing for nothing. In his last body he would have gone over, surprised her with a grasp of her shoulders joked around and teased a response from her lips. Sometimes he felt an urge to be a glimmer of his old self and then remembered who he was now. Different, anyway. Less playful, more… serious.

"Doctor?" Clara appeared next to him at the console.

"Hmmm?" He replied, half still lost in his thoughts, winding dials and punching buttons.

Clara made a sudden move and grabbed her time lord around the neck. His hands instantly sprang away from the controls, open in shock. He protested quietly as she held on to him and then slowly, brought his arms down around her waist. She leant into him a little closer and enjoyed this new sensation of a much-needed hug from her best friend.

"Thank you Doctor" Clara whispered. The Doctor wondered what she was thanking him for, the trips or the hug; he knew that both had been much needed.

"Just doing my job Clara," he muttered as she pulled away from him. For a second they stared each other out, wondering what the other was thinking. Then the Doctor sprang back to the controls, pulled a lever, and the TARDIS was in flight.

"Back home Clara Oswald! It's Thursday morning, 7am, plenty of time for you to get to work early, enjoy a coffee in the staff room and then get teaching your little wonders. Work that magic teach!"

Clara moved to the door and turned to face the Doctor. She smiled as she observed his face; full of such youthful joy it was as if he had forgotten to be the grumpy Doctor for a minute.

"I will, don't worry, I'll be easier on them as well, now that I know…"

"It may well be that this trip was the very thing that turned them into good future citizens you know, the facts that I taught their teacher how to be nice…"

"OI!" Clara flew across the TARDIS and whacked the Doctor playfully on the arm. "I thought you said I was good! Meanie!"

The Doctor roughly shoved her back. "You are idiot, I'm joking, it's called a joke!"

Clara stuck her tongue out at him and walked towards the door again. Turning to face him with one hand on the door she opened her mouth to speak but he cut her off.

"Oswald! Out! Enough chit chat go do your job, I've got planets to save you know and you're holding me up!"

"Fine, fine I'm going!" Clara rolled her eyes at the Doctor. "Next Wednesday yeah? I promise I'll be more aware next time."

"Wednesday yes yes yes, now get out!"

Clara let out a chuckle and left the TARDIS. The Doctor watched the door shut and lingered for a moment, getting rapidly lost in his thoughts again. That morning hadn't housed their usual adventures but he had quite enjoyed it, looking at Clara on her slow path, seeing what the world was like from her perspective. He had saved planets, galaxies, but she was just as special, helping young minds to grow on a daily basis. He hoped that he had shown her just how damn special she was.

Clara breezed through work that day. Even teaching Year 11 wasn't that bad. Instead of getting cross at every little thing they were doing wrong she relaxed and spent five minutes joking with them before ushering them on to their task for the day. There were still the usual problems of course, and she ended up having to send Belle out for rudeness, but she knew inside that the decisions she was making were the right ones, and that even if the kids weren't showing it, her way, her decisions and her guidance were helping them, whether they knew it in that moment or not. That night Clara closed her 'entry a day' diary and hid it away in a drawer. Instead she opened up her leather journal, in which she kept all her records of her adventures with the Doctor, and noted down the small moments in her day that were extra in the pure ordinariness of the school day. She realised now that it wasn't just her days with the Doctor that were special, but the every day moments, the smile from a usually sullen pupil, the thank you from a student who had told her to fuck off a month before, the compliance from a student when they were sent out when they would have refused to leave the room before.

It was all progress, she reflected. And helping a young person progress in the right direction in their life, what could be more special than that?

The following Wednesday the Doctor arrived at Clara's flat at 5pm to find her marking, but ready for their next adventure. He gave himself a mental high five when he noticed her sunny demeanor; his little adventure had done good after all. As Clara changed into something more comfortable than her work suit the Doctor poked through her pile of school work. It all seemed rather easy he reflected. Get a book, read it, read it with the kids, get them to analyse it. Easy!

"Clara…" the Doctor said as she reentered the room. "This all looks rather easy. Teaching must be a right laugh if you get to teach books all day right? The author has already done all the hard work for you."

The Doctor didn't immediately recognise the fire in Clara's eyes but he knew he was in trouble when she started to speak.

"Easy? All right then Doctor Smart Arse. You think it's 'easy' I dare you to do it. For a term at least. Get a job as a teacher, do it for yourself". Clara glared at the Doctor, chin jutting out, eyebrows raised in that fearsome 'teacher look' that so often frequented her face. The Doctor spluttered excuses but Clara was having none of it.

"What's the matter Doctor? Too _scared_? Too _chicken _to take on a challenge?"

"No!" he cried, aghast. The Doctor was not one to turn down a challenge. He was an expert at everything after all. "Fine, FINE! I'll do it. I'll teach, in a school, for a term. It'll be easy!"

Clara beamed at him. Her smile so wide it threatened to fall off her overly round face. The challenge was on, and this one, she was definately going to win!

**The Doctor and Clara will return in: The Substitute.**


End file.
